5/15/2003

have you no decency, sir?

However, as reported by NPR and the Houston Chronicle, DeLay did send Texas Rangers to the neonatal unit in Galveston, trying to intimidate the family of Rep. Craig Eiland and try to ensnare him should he visit his twins in intensive care there. Rangers have also entered the home of Rep. Joe Pickett without permission after his daughter left the door open.

Also, according to AP and the Chron, DeLay is trying to enlist the FBI and federal marshals to try and drag the Democrats back to Austin - which does indeed cross the line as an abuse of federal power. There is no criminal statue against breaking a state quorum that should necessitate federal law enforcement or prosecution.

There is indeed no decency, none.

UPDATE: Charles Kuffner has some critical background information about the history of bipartisanship in the Texas Lege and how this entire affair, orchestrated from Washington, could have been avoided had the current crop of Rovian/Delayite Republicans been a little more open to compromise rather than the tactics of brute force.

UPDATE 2: Thomas Nephew points out in the comments that the Chron fingered Craddick, not DeLay, in trying to bring the FBI onboard. But given that DeLay has been the primary instigator of the redistricting push, I didn't find the denials of his involvement coming from his office yesterday to be any more convincing than either NPR or the local news. This whole affair has been stage-manged from Sugarland on the Potomac.[1] He also disagrees about DHS, which forces me to clarify - DHS is designed to be aimed internally. It's not out of character for DHS to be used to interfere in states issues or in personal ones. My objections to DHS stem from its basic purpose, which I think is a powerful potential for abuse. But using DHS in this way is not an exaggeratio of DHS' powers, but rather the real intended use.

[1] the name of the Houston suburb that is DeLay's political home base.